Flying-machine.



E. L. WILSDORF.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.26.1918.

Patented Deo. 24, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

att/0111043 E.v L. VI/ILSDORF.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 26. I9Ia.

IggmL I rammed De@ 24,1918,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f gl i /k'l I @Romana vlamina L. wrtsnonr, or nasi CLEVELAND, onto,Assienon or onnroiia'rn 'ro' ennemis n. ritorna Ann cnn-FOURTH 'roGaone-n Uli/reissen, Born or craveh Lann, onto.

Application filed January 26, 1918. Serial No. 213,853.

To all whom t may concern: z

Be it lnown that l, ELMER L. VViLsDour, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fast Cleveland, in `the county of Cuyahoga and State ofOhio, have invented certain' yimprovements in aeroplanes, the primaryob' ject being to provide a new form of aeroplane adapted to present amore effective sustaining surface on its under side, as well as beingadapted to more effectively maintain lateral balance. More specificallyspeaking, my irnprovementsl in aeroplanes consist in the` provision ofan aeroplane elongated in the dif rection of flight and having atransversely convex sustaining and 'stabilizing under surface, whereby aplane possessing great inhereiit stability is provided. A still furtherimprovement consists in the combination, with such form of aeroplane, ofan upwardly inclined prow or forward portion inclined upwardly to thecommon or main longitudinal plane thereof. Y

A further obj ect is the provision of a cornbined aeroplane andhydroplane, together with improved means for controlling th same yineither capacity.

A still further object is to provide improved rudders and stabilizersadapted. to cooperate with eachother and with the aero-4 plane throughsuitable operating and control mechanism, whereby to control thedirection of Hight and maintain or restore equilibrium as the varyingeXigencies of flight may require.

A still further object is the provision of improved rudder operating andcontrolling mechanism adapted to beoperated by a sin- `le hand wheel andsteering column.

A still further object is the provision of an improved body or chassis,together Specification of Letters Patent.

FLYING-Maenner.

Patented Dec. 24k, i918..

with improved means of mounting and sup porting the landing wheelstherefor.

YVith the above mentioned and other ends in view, the invention consistsin the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts,hereinafter described, illustrated in one of its embodiments: in theaccompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Referring to the drawings,4 forming a part of this specification, Figurel, isa side elevation of a iying machine constructedln accordance withthis invention as it `appears .l

upon the ground or earths surface 'preparatoiv to flight, the rearelevating and depressing horizontal plane and the operating and in oneof their eXtreme positions.

Fig. 2, a side elevation of the :same in flight, or upon the water as ahydroplane, the dotted line representing substantially the angle orincidence and normal inclination of the plano while in flight, or in thewater, as the case may be, and the rear or horizontal mechanismtherefor, being shown in a substantially reversed position to that shownin Fig. l.

controllin(r mechanism therefor, being shown Fig. 3, a diagrammatic sideelevation of the improved form of sustaining plane. and illustrating inparticular the upwardly and downwardly extending prow andv rudderportions ofthe sustaining plane and the substantial center of gravitythereof.

Fig. 4, a diagrammatic front elevation of the saine, illustra-ting inparticular the transversely convex sustaining and stabilizing surfacethereof, the dotted lines illustrating the lines of air action thereonin Hight.

Fig.' 5, a top plan view of the improved \machine, and illustrating inparticular the elongated form and outline of the improved aeroplane. W

Fig. 6, a transverse or cross sectional view taken `on line V6 6, ofFig. 2.

Fig. 7, a similar view taken on line 7"?, of Fig. 2. Y i

Fig. 8, a perspective view of the rear end of the improved plane, therear horizontal or tail rudder being removed, and illustrating inparticular the rear elevating and depressing horizontal plane, and itsmounting and therefor.

rudder plane and 'operating- `the operating and controlling mechanismgated in the direction of Iiight and isprovided with a transverselyconvex sust-aining and stabilizing' surface 1a, as shown most clearly inFigs. 4, 6, and 7, of the drawings. 1t will be seen that the improvedsustaining plane is of substantially convexe-concave shape in crosssection for the purpose of rendering the sustaining` plane moreinherently stable by more readily maintainingr or restoring lateralbalance or equilibrium, as will be more readily apparent upon refer--ence to Fig. 4, of the drawings. For the purpose of giving the improvedsustaining plane additional lifting power, the front or prow portion l",is inclined and curved upwardly to the main longitudinal plane or axisof the sustaining plane, as a whole, and as a means of providing asuitable frame work for the surfaces of the sustaining plane, curvedside frame members 2, of suitable form may be provided, said sidemembers 2. being suitably supported or trussed Iby means of suitablecross members 2a, and longitudinally extending median members I2".

asshown most clearly in Figs. 6, 7, and 9, of

the drawings.

` As a means of connecting the frame mem-A bers of the aeroplane te asuitable supporting structure, as well as adapting the improved machinefor use, either as an aeroplane or as a hydroplane, the front or prowportion of the 'aeroplane is provided, in the present instance, with adownwardly and rearwardly curved median skid member 3, terminating in amain supporting member 3a, the laltter terminating vin an upwardlycurved skid member 3h. v

As a means of providing a suitz ble supporting orboat structure when atrest, or in the water as a hydroplane, the main sup! porting framemember 3a, is provided with frame members 4, arranged in suitable formto receive and carry a suitable boat or hull body 5, the latter being ofsuitable form as shown, and preferably provided with open Sides 5a, thefront inner portion of the supx porting structure orboat body', beingprovided with a suitable power unit 6, suitably connected to a propellershaft 7, carrying a suitable propeller 8. The propeller 8, is preferablymounted immediately beneath the upwardlyl curved front or prow portionl", of the aeroplane and in front of the boat nanars-i .body 5, therebybeing protected by the curved front skid member 3, and as a means ofcounter-acting the side or lateral thrust of the propeller shaft 7,during its rotation, nthe front under side of the aeroplane may beprovided with a vertical rudder 9, hingedly connected along its upperedge, as at'9, (see Fig.v 6) and adapted to be adjusted at variousangles of incidence by means of an adjusting `bolt 9b, adjustablyconnected to the front curved skid member 3,.

The supporting structure or hull body 5, may be provided with suitableground or landing wheels 10, carriedon transverse'axle members 10, thelatter being mounted in suitable front and rear'springmembers 11 and 12,respectively. 1n the present in- -I stance, the front spring member 11,consists of a single length of suitable spring material' bent midway ofits ends to form a` loop inember 11a, the latter bearing beneath theunder side of the hull body 5, and terminatingin coils 11b, carrying thefront axle member 10, the rear ends of the front spring member 11, beingconnected to suitable brackets 13, on the boat .or supporting structure.The rear spring l2, in the present instance, comprises twolongitudinallyl extending side members connected at their frontby meansof brackets 14, andthe rear axle member 10, in the present instance isprovided with a loop portion iob, adapted `supporting or skid member 3a.

.The rear end of the aeroplane is preferably provided with a horizontaltail rudder 15, in the present instance, hingedly con- `nected to hingelugs 2, of the aeroplane frame, said vtail rudder 15, normally extendingdownwardly and rearwardly as shown, and being adjustably supported bymeans of a curved threaded supporting rod 16, extending, in the presentinstance, from the rear skid member 3b, said supporting rod extendingthrough a suitable opening in the tail rudder, and being provided withadjusting l nuts 16a.

As av means of controlling and regulating the horizontal direction offlight, or in other to straddle and clear the main surface l, the latteris provided at its rear y under side with an elevating and depressingrudder-plane 17, extending transversely of the sustaining plane andadapted to rock on suitable trunnion members carried in suitablebearings 18a, being mounted on the ends of depending supports 18,suitably secured to the aeroplane frame, and, if desired, the supports18, and bearings 18a, may be bracedy by means of brace wires19.

As a means of controlling and rocking the rudder-plane 117 as well asadjusting and holding the same in any desired adjusted position, thefront and rear portions of the rudder-plane 17, are provided with frontand rear pairs of cable members 20, and 21, re-

spectively, extending forwardly over suitable sheaves 22, and beingconnected to Arear and front cables 23 and 24, respectively, the latterpassing over suitable rocker segments 25a, of a steering columnsupporting rocker 25. The rocker 25, is mounted in a bearing column 26,and is provided with a steering column 27, provided with a steeringwheel 28.

As a means of'providing for the lateral control of the combinedaeroplane and hydroplaiie, the aeroplane isv provided with upper andlower vertical rudders 29 and 30, respectively, the upper or planerudder 29, being mounted above the rear portion ofthe mainplane andbeing connected to the lower or boat rudder 30, by means of a verticalaXle or rock shaft 31, to which the rudders 29 or 30, may be keyed orotherwise suitably secured, and as a means of simultaneously actuatingthe rudders 29 and SOthe front portion of the upper rudder 29, isprovided with oppositely extending cable meinbers 32, .extending oversuitable sheaves 3S, at the side of the aeroplane, one of said cablesextending-through one end ofethe hollow rocker 25, and being wound uponthe intersecting end of the steering column 27, the other cableentending through the opposite end of the rocker 25, and beingoppositely wound on the steering column so that the cable 32, willoperate in unison with the turning of the steering wheel and columnin,Yan obvious manner, and when it is desired to operate the rudder-plane17, at the same time, or simultaneously with the actuation thereof, itis obvious thata rocking motion imparted to the steering column 27, and

steering wheel 28, will impart a rocking motion to the rocker 25, andthereby actuate the rear and front cables 23 and 211.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the operation and advantages of my invention willbe readily understood Having thus described one of the e1nbodiments ofmy invention, what I claim and desire to secure bylietters Patent, is,-

1. ln a hydroaeroplane, a sustaining plane, a boat structure carriedbeneath the same, connected vertical aerial and boat rudders above andat the rear of said plane and boat structures, respectively, ahorizontal rudder-plane beneath said sustaining plane'V and at the rear'of said boat rudder, and a horizontal downwardly inclined tail rudderadjustabl'y mounted at the rear of saidlisustaining plane and saidrudders and rudder-plane.

2. ln a iiying machine, taining plane of convene-concave shape in crosssection, a boat structurecarried thereby, an elevating and depressingrudder-plane beneath the rear portion of said sustaining plane, verticalsteering rudders above and .said boat structure.

an elongated sus-,

below said sustaining plane respectively, a

tail rudder on said sustaining plane, and a steering wheel and columnoperatively connected to said vertical rudders and said rud-V der-planefor actuating the same either singly or simultaneously` 3. In ahydroaeroplane, a sustaining plane provided with depending boatstructure and having a vertically pivoted plane connected-to a boatrudder at its rear, said boat structure being provided with front andrear skid members, a propeller at the front of said boat structurebeneath said plane and at the rear of said front skid member, a powerunit carried by said boat structure and operatively connected to saidpropeller, and an elevating and depressing horizontal rudder-planebeneath the rear portion of said sustaining plane and at the rear of t.In a hydroaeroplane, a sustaining plane provided with a depending boatstructure and having connected vertically pivoted horizontally swingingaerial and boat rudders at its rear, said boat structure being providedwith curved front and rear skid members connected to the front and rearportions of said sustaining plane, a propeller at the front of said boatstructure beneath said plane and at the rear of said front skid member,a power unit carried by said boat 'structure and Qperativ'ely' connectedtovsaid propeller, Yand an elevating and depressing horizontalrudder-planev beneath the rear portion of said sustaining plane-and atthe rear of said boat structure and arranged within and protected bysaid rear skid member. y

5. In a hydroaeroplane, a sustaining plane, a boat body carried beneaththe same, a chassis therefor, ground wheels thereon, connected upper andlower verticalrudders above and below said sustaining plane, said lowerrudder being at the rear of said boat body, a horizontal rudder-planebeneath said sustaining plane and at the rearof said boat body, and asteering column and column supporting rocker member operativelyconnected to said rudders and rudder-plane,

respectively, whereby a rotary movement of said steering column will'simultaneously actuate said upper andL lower rudders and a rockingmovement of said rocker member by saidV column willA actuate saidrudderplane.

6. ln a hydroaeroplane, a sustaining plane, a boat body, carried beneaththe same,

a chassis therefor, ground wheels thereon, upper and lowerhorizontallyswinging ver tical rudders projecting above and below said sustainingplane, a horizontal rudderplane beneath said vsustaining Vplane at therear of said boat body, and a ste V.ing column and column supportingrocker Mwemf, ,aia .sim ber operatively connecten to said i i ist ` andrudder-plane, respectively, whereby a rotary movement Aof said steeringcolumn will simultaneously actuate said verticalrudder-plane beneath therear portion of said sustaining plane and at the rear of 'said boatstructure, a propeller at the front of said boat structure and beneaththe front portion of said sustaining plane, and a steering column androcker member' connected'to' said vertical rudders and rudderplane,respectively7 whereby the same may be operated either simultaneously orsingly by the movements of said steering column and rocker member. l

8. a flying machine, a sustaining plane,

recarsi a boat structure including curved front and `depressingrudder-plane beneath the rear port-ion of said sustaining plane andarranged Within and protected by-said rear skid member, a propeller' atthe front of said boat structure arranged Within and protatable rockingsteering device connected to said vertical rudders and rudder-plane,whereby the same may be operated by the rotatable and rocking movementsof said steering device. p

vIn testimony whereof I have aixed my signature in the presence of twoWitnesses.

ELMER L. WLSDORF. Witnesses:

Og. C. BILLMAN, W.' C. GRAVES.

i tected by said front skid member, and a ro-

